Almost half of motorists admit to aggressive driving

What types of behavior do you find the most frustrating when you’re on the road or in parking lots…especially during the holidays? You can join the conversation on our Facebook page or tweet your thoughts using #WTOP.

WASHINGTON — Nearly two out of three drivers nationwide have witnessed aggressive driving six or more times in the past three months, according to a new study from State Farm and KRC Research.

“Aggressive driving tends to be worse during the holiday season and a lot of it is based on negative emotion while on the road,” says State Farm Agent Raymond Mensah of Bethesda. “They tend to back out of spaces quickly, you may see more parking lot accidents happening with people fighting for spots.”

Other aggressive behavior includes driving too fast, improper lane changing, tailgating and either cursing or extending the middle finger at other drivers.

“Sometimes just here in Bethesda trying to cross the street I see that behavior on a weekly basis. So this doesn’t surprise me,” says Mensah.

Forty-four percent of drivers reported not only have they witnessed aggressive behavior, but they’ve also acted aggressively in the last three months.

Between the sexes, men are considered the more aggressive. Fifty-four percent of those polled said men are most likely culprits and 37 percent or respondents saying both sexes are equally likely to be guilty.

Traffic jams and running late were the top two reasons for such behavior.

“The biggest thing we can learn from this is just to be prepared before you go on the road. You listen to WTOP, you’ll know what the traffic is going to be,” says Mensah. “There’s not much you can change about the traffic. If you’re going to be late, you’re going to be late. I would recommend people try not to worry about things that are out of their control and relax as much as possible.”

The study was an online survey of 1,000 drivers age 18 and older. The online survey is not based on a probability sample and therefore no margin of error can be calculated.